The Raspberry Pi comes with several status leds on the board. This article is a reference of basic status led values. You will most probably check the blinking (or non-blinking) leds on your board, if something goes wrong. Overview of Raspberry Pi System LED meanings (Details in the Description section) :
DescriptionThe current RPi models system LEDs have many the features described below. PWR (red)Indicates that power has been provided to the board. On A+ and later models it will flash if the voltage drops below 4.63V ACT (green)Indicates SD card activity: flashes when read or write is in progress, otherwise off. Should flash intensively during boot. This is the only LED present on Pi Zero. Additionally, ACT is flashed in specific patterns to indicate early boot problems:
LNK (green)Indicates Ethernet (LAN) connection and activity: it is constantly lit when connected, and flashes off on data transfers. Located on the PCB on model B, and on the Ethernet RJ-45 socket in later models. 100 (yellow)Indicates 100 Mbit Ethernet (it's off on 10 Mbit connections). Located on the PCB on model B, and on the Ethernet RJ-45 socket in later models. FDX (green or orange)Indicates Full Duplex Ethernet connection. Exists only on model B. If your Raspberry Pi board isn't booting, and the green 'Act' LED is flashing, count the number of flashes to look up which of the following issues that indicates. This is an excerpt from the full forum posts at https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=58151;
Error ACT LED patterns (RPI up to but NOT including Pi4) While booting, the ACT LED should blink in an irregular pattern, indicating that it is reading from the card. If it starts blinking in a regular, Morse code-like pattern, then it is signalling an error. If it blinks just once, it could be that you have a Raspberry Pi with SDRAM from Micron. If the processor has a logo showing an M with an orbit around
it, then using the latest software should solve your problem. Also make sure you are using a 4GB SD card, as a 2GB won't work in this particular case. These are the other patterns that the ACT LED might show during a failed boot, together with their meanings (the below blink codes are NOT valid for a RPI4, read the RPI4 section for ACT LED flash messages!):
If you have an older model of the Pi, you should note that firmware before 20th October 2012 required loader.bin, and the meaning of the flashes was slightly different:
Potential reason for 4 flashes Try the most
basic set-up Error ACT LED patterns
(Pi4 ONLY) Unlike previous Raspberry PI's the RPI4B boots with the use of code from a built-in EEPROM, which means it can use more complex boot code with more flexibility, and the ability to add new features (like Network and USB booting). Consequently, when the new boot code doesn't detect a valid start.elf file on the SD-card, it will blink the activity LED four times with an interval between the four blinks. So, unlike other RPI's blinking the ACT LED (in a regular pattern), on the Pi4, it doesn't mean the SD-card is detected and is booting, it means the EEPROM code cannot find the SD-card (start.elf). Connect a monitor on HDMI0 (nearest the power port) for the boot failure reason. LED warning flash codes
so:
Still need help? Contact Us Contact Us Last updated on March 18, 2022 |